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diff --git a/old/53982-0.txt b/old/53982-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7175e16..0000000 --- a/old/53982-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1577 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 7, -August 15, 1840, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 7, August 15, 1840 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: January 17, 2017 [EBook #53982] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRISH PENNY JOURNAL, AUG 15, 1840 *** - - - - -Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by JSTOR www.jstor.org) - - - - - - - - - - - THE IRISH PENNY JOURNAL. - - NUMBER 7. SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1840. VOLUME I. - -[Illustration: REMAINS AT MONASTERBOICE. COUNTY LOUTH.] - -To the observing and imaginative traveller, our island must present a -great number of peculiarities of aspect which will not fail to excite his -notice, and impress themselves indelibly upon his mind. The scantiness of -wood--for its natural timber has nearly all disappeared--and the abundance -of water, are two of the characteristics that will most strike him; and, -next to these, the great extent of prospect usually afforded to the eye in -consequence of the undulating character of its surface. Sparkling streams -are visible everywhere, and shining lakes and noble rivers come into view -in rapid succession; while ranges of blue mountains are rarely wanting to -bound the distant horizon. The colours with which Nature has painted the -surface of our island are equally peculiar. There is no variety of green, -whether of depth or vivid brightness, which is not to be found covering -it; they are hues which can be seen nowhere else in equal force; and even -our bogs, which are so numerous, with all their mutations of colour, now -purple, and anon red, or brown, or black, by their vigorous contrasts give -additional beauty and life to the landscape, and assist in imparting to it -a sort of national individuality. Our very clouds have to a great degree a -distinctive character--the result of the humidity of our climate; they -have a grandeur of form and size, and a force of light and shadow, that -are but rarely seen in other countries; they are _Irish clouds_--at one -moment bright and sunny, and in the next flinging their dark shadows over -the landscape, and involving it in gloomy grandeur. It is in this striking -force of contrast in almost every thing that we look at, that the -peculiarity of our scenery chiefly consists; and it appears to have -stamped the general character of our people with those contrasting lights -and shades so well exhibited in our exquisite and strongly-marked national -music, in which all varieties of sentiment are so deeply yet harmoniously -blended as to produce on the mind effects perhaps in some degree -saddening, but withal most delightfully sweet and soothing. A country -marked with such peculiarities is not the legitimate abode of the refined -sensualist of modern times, or the man of artificial pleasure and -heartless pursuits, and all such naturally remain away from it, or visit -it with reluctance; but it is the proper habitation of the poet, the -painter, and, above all, the philanthropist; for nowhere else can the -latter find so extensive a field for the exercise of the godlike feelings -of benevolence and patriotism. - -Yet the natural features of scenery and climate which we have pointed out, -interesting as all must admit them to be, are not the only ones that -confer upon our country the peculiar and impressive character which it -possesses. The relics of past epochs of various classes; the monuments of -its Pagan times, as revealed to us in its religious, military, and -sepulchral remains; the ruins of its primitive Christian ages, as -exemplified in its simple and generally unadorned churches, and slender -round towers; the more splendid monastic edifices of later date, and the -gloomy castles of still more recent times--these are everywhere present to -bestow historic interest on the landscape, and bring the successive -conditions and changes of society in bygone ages forcibly before the -mind; so that an additional interest, of a deep and poetical nature, is -thus imparted to views in themselves impressive from their wild and -picturesque appearance. So perfect, indeed, is this harmony of the natural -and artificial characteristics of Irish scenery, so comprehensively do -both tell the history of our country, to which Nature has been most -bountiful, and in which, alas! man has not been happy, that if we were -desirous of giving a stranger a true idea of Ireland, and one that would -impress itself on his mind, we should conduct him to one of our green open -landscapes, where the dark and ruined castle, seated on some rocky height, -or the round tower, with its little parent church, in some sequestered -valley, would be the only features to arrest his attention; and of such a -scene we should say emphatically, This is Ireland! And such a scene is -that which is presented by the ruins represented in our prefixed -illustration. - -Passing along the great northern road from Drogheda to Dundalk, and about -four miles from the former, the traveller will find himself in an open -pastoral country, finely undulating, thinly dotted with the cottages of -the peasants, and but little adorned by art. On one side, to his left, he -will see a little group of ruins, with a lofty but shattered round tower, -giving index of their age and character. These are the ruins of the long -since celebrated religious establishment of Monasterboice, one of the most -interesting groups of their kind in Ireland. They consist of two small -churches, a round tower, and three most gorgeously sculptured stone -crosses, standing in the midst of a crowd of tombs and head-stones of -various ages. Both the churches are of great antiquity, though, as their -architectural features clearly show, of widely separated ages--the larger -one exhibiting the peculiarities of the ecclesiastical structures of the -twelfth century, and the smaller those of a much earlier date. Both are -also simple oblongs, consisting of a nave and choir; and the round tower -appears to be of coeval architecture with the earlier church. - -The tower, which is of excellent construction, is built of the slatey -limestone of the surrounding hills, and is divided into five stories by -belts of stone slightly projecting. The upper story has four oblong -apertures, and the lower ones are each lighted by an aperture having an -angular top. The doorway, which faces the south-east, has a semicircular -arch, and is constructed of chiselled freestone: it is of the usual height -of five feet six inches, by one foot ten inches in breadth, and is six -feet from the present surface of the ground. The circumference of the -tower is fifty-one feet, and its height is one hundred and ten; but its -original height was greater, as a considerable portion of its top has been -destroyed by lightning. - -In these churches and this tower Monasterboice has nothing which may not -be found in many other early religious foundations in Ireland; but in the -magnificence of its sculptured stone crosses it may be said to stand -alone. They are the finest of their class in the country; but, as we shall -make them the subjects of distinct notices, with illustrations, in our -future numbers, it is not necessary for us to enter into a more particular -description of them here. - -Monasterboice, or, as it is called in the Irish language, -Mainistir-buite--that is, the monastery of Buite, or Boetius--owes its -origin to a celebrated bishop and abbot of this name who flourished about -the close of the fifth century, and who is said to have been a disciple of -St Patrick: according to our ancient annalists, he died on the 7th of -December 522. Of its subsequent history but little is preserved, beyond a -few scattered records of the deaths of several of its abbots and -professors anterior to the twelfth century, of whom the celebrated poet, -antiquary, and historian, Flann, was the most distinguished, and whose -death is thus recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters:-- - -“1056. Flann of the Monastery, lecturer of Monasterboice, the last -fountain of knowledge of the Irish, in history, poetry, eloquence, and -general literature, died on the fourth of the calends of December (28th -November), of whom it was said, - - ‘Flann of the great church of sweet Buite, - The piercing eyes of his smooth head were modest; - The godly man of Meath was he of whom we speak; - The last professor of the country of the three Finns was Flann.’” - -A considerable number of historical poems by this distinguished man have -descended to our times, of which a list is given in O’Reilly’s Irish -Writers; but his more valuable remains are his Synchronisms of the Irish -Kings, with the Eastern and Roman Emperors, and of the Christian -Provincial Kings of Ireland, and the Kings of Scotland of the Irish race, -with the Chief Monarchs of Ireland. Of these works, which are of -inestimable value to the Irish and Scottish historian, perfect copies are -preserved in the MS. Book of Lecan, in the Library of the Royal Irish -Academy. - -The notices in our Annals of the other distinguished men connected with -Monasterboice are of little interest; but as they have never been properly -collected together, we think them worthy of publication, for the use of -the Irish topographical historian, to whom we trust our Journal will -become a valuable repertory of authorities: - -722. Ailchon, of Monasterboice, died. - -769. Cormac, the son of Ailliolla, Abbot of Monasterboice, was drowned in -the Boyne. - -786. Dubdainber, the son of Cormac, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -800. Cuanna, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -836. Flaithri, Abbot of Monasterboice, a Bishop and Anchorite, died. - -844. Muireadhach, the son of Flann, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -853. Radgus, the son of Maicniada, Abbot of Monasterboice, was drowned in -the Boyne. - -864. Colga and Aodh, two Abbots of Monasterboice, died this year. - -875. Maolpatrick, the son of Ceallach, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -881. Dunadach, the son of Cormac, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -887. Fothaidh, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -922. Muireadhach, the son of Donall, Abbot of Monasterboice, chief -beadsman to all the men of Bregia, youths, clerks, and the stewart of -Patrick’s people, from Sliabh Fuaid (the Fews Mountain) to Leinster, died. - -933. Maolbrigid, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -965. Dubdaboirenn, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -1004. Donall, the son of Macniadha, Abbot of Monasterboice, a Bishop and -Holy Senior, died. - -1039. Macniadha, a Bishop, and Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -1059. Donall, the son of Eodhossa, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -1067. Echtigern, the son of Flann, Aircinneach of Monasterboice, died. - -1117. Eogan, the son of Echtigern, Abbot of Monasterboice, died. - -These notices, extracted from the Annals of Ulster, and of the Four -Masters, will show the great antiquity of the Abbey of Monasterboice, as -well as the distinguished rank which it held among the religious -establishments of Ireland previous to the occupation of the ancient -kingdom of Meath by the English, after which period it disappears from -history. - -The following records from the same authorities relate to its general -history:-- - -968. Monasterboice and Lan Lere were plundered on the Danes by Donall, -King of Ireland, and he burned three hundred and fifty of them in one -house. - -1097. The _Cloictheach_ (viz. round tower belfry) of Monasterboice, -containing books and several other valuables, was burned. - -This last notice, and many others of the kind which occur in our Annals, -are of great value in showing the original uses of our round towers, as -set forth in Mr Petrie’s Essay on the Round Towers of Ireland, now in -course of publication. - -In concluding these notices of a spot so long the abode of the piety, art, -and learning of remote times, we may add, that in its present deserted and -ruined state it is a scene of the deepest and most solemn interest; and -the mind must indeed be dull and earthly in which it fails to awaken -feelings of touching and permanent interest. Silence and solitude the most -profound are impressed on all its time-worn features; we are among the -dead only; and we are forced, as it were, to converse with the men of -other days. In all our frequent visits to these ruins we never saw a -living human being among them but once. It was during a terrific -thunder-storm, which obliged us to seek shelter behind one of the stone -crosses for an hour. The rain poured down in impetuous torrents, and the -clouds were so black as to give day the appearance of night. It was at -such an awful hour, that a woman of middle age, finely formed, and of a -noble countenance, entered the cemetery, and, regardless of the storm -raging around, flung herself down upon a grave, and commenced singing an -Irish lamentation in tones of heart-rending melancholy and surpassing -beauty. This wail she carried on as long as we remained; and her voice -coming on the ear between the thunder-peals, had an effect singularly wild -and unearthly: it would be fruitless to attempt a description of it. The -reader, if he know what an Irishwoman’s song of sorrow is, must imagine -the effect it would have at such a moment among those lightning-shattered -ruins, and chanted by such a living vocal monument of human woe and -desolation. - -We subsequently learned on inquiry that this poor creature’s history was a -sad one; she was slightly crazed, in consequence of the death of her only -son, who had been drowned; and her mania lay in a persuasion, which -nothing could remove, that he was not lost, but would yet return to her to -bless her, and close her long-weeping eyes in peace. - - P. - - - - -THE RED MEN OF AMERICA. - -SECOND ARTICLE. - - -We could relate many instances of the gratitude with which Indians repay a -kindness, and of their firmness in friendship, but our limits restrain us. -We must besides admit, that they are equally resentful of injury as -mindful of favours, and persecute an enemy with as much constancy as they -cherish a friend. Mr Catlin has preserved the portrait of a Mandan chief, -named Mah-to-tôh-pa, or the Four Bears, whose life affords many singular -illustrations of the above truths. We have room for one only. His brother -had been surprised while asleep by a Riccaree, who left the spear with -which he had murdered the sleeping man in the wound, and boasted of what -he had done. The Four Bears took possession of the spear, preserved it -carefully, with the blood of his brother encrusted on its point, and swore -to cover that stain with the heart’s blood of the Riccaree. Many moons -elapsed, many snows even went by, and the Four Bears had not yet found the -much desired opportunity of revenge. At length the _culpability_ of his -enforced delay became too heavy a reproach, and he resolved on seeking the -Riccaree in his distant home, to do which he had to steal his way through -his enemy’s country for hundreds of miles; a task, the difficulty of which -can be appreciated only by those who know the watchfulness of Indian -habits, and the vigilance of those whom he had to circumvent. But “when -Greek meets Greek,” we all know what “comes;” in this case, however, -“diamond-cut-diamond” were perhaps the more appropriate metaphor: let our -readers settle that point. The Four Bears accomplished his task; he had -traversed many a weary plain, had threaded many a tangled forest, swam -many a river; but at length he stood, famished and outworn, before the -village of his enemy. This was surrounded by a stockade, but he overcame -that with little difficulty. It was night, but the dwelling of the -offender was known to him, and entering it, he sat down before the fire, -over which hung a pot containing food, which the provident squaw had set -to simmer through the night. The family were in their beds, which consist -of skins stretched on low frames, and ranged around the walls of the hut. -The Riccaree, the object of the Mandan’s visit, was also on his couch, -with his arms close beside him, as is the custom. But he was not asleep; -the flame as it rose fitfully was reflected from his glittering eyes, -which rested, but with no particular interest, on his visitor. The latter, -conscious that his then exhausted strength was not equal to the _duty_ he -became to perform, sat collected within himself for a certain time; he -then took part of the food that filled the pot, and ate in such measure as -he thought advisable. This done, he lighted his pipe, and sat to smoke it. -The squaw meanwhile had asked her husband what man it was who was reposing -at their hearth. “He is a hungry man, for thou seest he is eating; what -matter for the rest?” was her husband’s reply, and the uninvited guest -concluded his meal without interruption. Was the Mandan shaken by what we -feel to be the most touching appeal of this deep confidence to his better -sympathies? He scarcely felt that it was one. Among Indians, hospitality -is neither offered nor accepted as a matter of favour, but of right, and -of course; nor would he have replied to such an appeal could he have felt -it. He believed himself to be in the performance of a most solemn duty, -and would have scorned all vacillation as weakness. Nor shall we be just -ourselves if we lose sight of this in our abhorrence of his deed. - -The pipe of the Mandan exhausted, he adjusted his raiment for departure; -he rose, collected his force, sprang on his unsuspecting host, whom he -stabbed to the heart with the spear already named, then scalped him, and, -springing from the hut, was out of the village, and deep in a neighbouring -watercourse, by the time that his enemies’ dogs were upon him; again, by -many a night march and day of hunger and suffering, he arrived in his -village, _his_ conscience set at rest by the act at which _we_ shudder. - -Mr Catlin, who knew this chief intimately, relates many stories of his -bravery and general elevation of character, but we have room for the tale -of his death only. In the year 1837, Mr Catlin had left the friendly -Mandans some three years, when the small-pox was carried among them by the -traders; the whole family of the Four Bears perished by this disease; -wife, child, not one was left him; he stood alone in his desolation, and -gathering the corpses together, he covered all with skins, after the -manner of his people; the songs for the dead then performed, he seated -himself by the mound he had raised, which he addressed from time to time -in the most touching terms of endearment, as each individual composing the -mournful group rose to his memory. This continued through nine days and -nights, during all which he took neither food nor sleep, and on the tenth -he was himself a corpse. - -The native American is deeply imbued with religious feeling; no Indian who -maintains a fair character in his tribe is without some place of -retirement for worship and meditation; a lonely tree, a nook in the bank -of a stream, the hollow of a rock, are frequently selected for this -purpose; nor is the habit confined to such tribes as have no fixed -religious ceremonies; it was practised by the Mandans and others, many of -whom possessed oratories such as we have just described, in addition to -their “medicine” or “mystery lodges,” which may be called their public -temples. The Osages, Kansas, and other tribes west of the Mississippi, -never fail to implore the blessing of the Great Spirit on breaking up -their encampments, and they return thanks devoutly for the food they have -found, and the preservation they have experienced, on arriving at the end -of their journey. Thanks and praises are also publicly offered at every -new moon, at the commencement of the buffalo hunts in spring, and at the -ingathering of the corn; at which latter period a feast is held, called -the corn feast: over this, among some tribes, the oldest woman presides. -The Minatarrees boil a large kettle full of the new corn in presence of -all the people, four medicine men, painted with white clay, dancing round -the kettle until its contents are well boiled; these are next burnt to -ashes as an offering to the Great Spirit; the fire is then extinguished; -new fire is immediately created by rubbing two sticks together; with this -they cook the corn for their own feast, and the remainder of the day is -spent in festivity. - -Dances are also performed to the Great Spirit on various occasions, as -among the Ojibbeways on the first fall of snow; this is danced in -snow-shoes. All believe in a future state of existence--in the reward of -the good by an eternal residence in pleasant and plentifully supplied -hunting grounds beyond the great waters--and in the punishment of the -wicked by transformation into some loathsome beast, reptile, or insect, -and by banishment to barren, parched, and desolate regions, the abodes of -bad spirits, for a period proportionate to the enormity of their guilt. -Prayers are also offered to the evil spirit in deprecation of his enmity, -but on none of these ceremonies is attendance compelled; that Indian is, -however, less respected, who is known constantly to absent himself from -all. - -The “medicine man” of the Indians is at once prophet, priest, and -physician; he has sometimes great influence. The ceremony by which this -dignity is attained among the Sioux, is one involving no little suffering. -The candidate for this honour has innumerable splints of wood driven -through the most sensitive parts of his flesh, and being suspended by some -of these to a pole, with his medicine bag in his hand, he is expected to -keep his eyes steadily fixed on the sun from its rising to its setting, -when he is taken down, and entitled to be called a medicine or mystery man -for the remainder of his life; but he has to make ceaseless efforts for -the support of his character, since the failure of either his cures or his -prophecies renders him liable to universal contempt. - -Almost every family has its medicine or mystery bag, which consists of a -beaver or otter skin curiously ornamented; this contains the medicinal -stores and smaller consecrated articles of the family; it is considered a -great disgrace to sell or otherwise part with an article once consecrated, -and the medicine bag is always held sacred and inviolate to every hand but -that of its owner. When a warrior of the Sac and Fox tribe falls in -battle, his widow suspends his mystery bag on the pole before his tent, -and sits herself within the lodge; the warriors, returned from the battle, -and adorned with the scalps they have taken from the enemy, then assemble -before the lodge; they dance to the medicine bag of their lost brother, -and throw presents to his widow, of such articles as they think may best -console her for her loss. - -The Indian dwelling is much varied in its form and manner among the -various tribes; the Pawnees, for example, live in lodges thatched with -prairie grass, and which are not unlike immense bee-hives. - -The Sioux, the Camanchees, the Crows, and others inhabiting a vast tract -on the upper waters of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and extending -to the base of the Rocky Mountains, have moveable tents formed of buffalo -skins richly ornamented, according to Indian notions of ornament, and -fastened to poles sometimes twenty-five feet high; some of these tents -will shelter eighty persons, and require from thirty to thirty-five -buffalo skins to cover them. - -The Riccarees, Mandans, &c. are, or _were_, lodged in villages fortified -by strong stockades eighteen feet high; their huts are formed of poles -covered closely and smoothly with earth, and this in process of time -becomes so compact and hard, that men, women, and children, recline and -play on their tops. - -It has been sometimes asserted that the Indian people have a common -language, but this is not the case; scarcely any two of their nations -between whom no intercourse exists, possess a language understood by both, -but this inconvenience is obviated by a “language of signs,” so effective -and eloquent that by this every Indian is enabled to communicate with his -brother of whatever nation or tribe, and hence perhaps has arisen the -supposition that all speak a common language. The mode of writing among -Indians is entirely hieroglyphic, and is of course liable to wide -misconstruction; but they lay down maps with no mean degree of accuracy, -and the chiefs wear the boundaries of their hunting-grounds traced on -their robes; a counterpart being kept in the public lodge among such other -records as the nation may possess, and those are referred to if any -dispute arise among neighbouring tribes. - -Their manufactures are of course few and simple. Stones are cut into -pestles and mortars, tomahawks, knives, pipes, &c.; pottery is formed for -domestic purposes from the clays furnished by all parts of their country; -mats are woven from grass or rushes, and blankets from the hair of the -buffalo. These articles are mostly the work of the women, who with the -children plant, cultivate, and gather in the crops, collect wild rice and -pash-e-quah, a large bulbous root, in form like the sweet potato and in -taste like the chesnut, but more juicy. Nuts of many sorts, several kinds -of plums, osage oranges, gooseberries, strawberries, and many sorts of -grapes, are also collected in their season. Besides this, the women dress -buffalo skins, procure wood and water, and in some tribes fetch home the -game which the hunter, having tracked and killed, then leaves to their -further disposal. - -Beaver and other skins, belts of wampum, and coloured shells ground to an -oval form, serve as coin; but the most important wealth of the Indian is -in his horses and dogs, which assist him in the chase, and of which some -possess great numbers. Many tribes of Indians are exceedingly bold and -expert horsemen, the Camanchees more particularly, many of whom perform -feats of dexterity on their wild horses that would astonish our boldest -equestrians. These men are often seen to throw themselves on one side of -their horses, to avoid the arrows of an enemy or the attack of an enraged -buffalo, in such a manner that the extremity of one foot only seems to -hold by the animal, and that while he continues to move at full speed; -nay, some have been even known to shoot arrows while in that position, the -tenure of which is altogether inconceivable to the European rider. - -Their weapons for hunting are lances five or six feet long, and tipped -with stone or the bone of some animal, and bows with arrows similarly -pointed. The buffalo is sometimes hunted by men who have partially -concealed their persons in the skin of the white wolf, and who creep to -within shot of their game by favour of this disguise; for the buffalo, -accustomed to the white wolf, and safe from his attack unless, when, -separated from the herd, he becomes the prey of a pack, permits the -approach of the Indian thus masked, the latter being careful to keep to -leeward of his game, whose scent is very acute. - -Indians sometimes drive whole herds of buffalo, elk, and deer, into -impassable ravines or to the brink of precipices, when they slaughter as -many as they may need; but none were ever destroyed wantonly before the -introduction of whisky; whereas at this time whole herds are killed merely -for their skins, the flesh being left to decay on the prairies; and this, -by depopulating the hunting-grounds, induces famine, and is another cause -of Indian suffering and final extinction. - -Buffaloes are often destroyed by the panther; solitary individuals -sometimes fall a prey to a pack of wolves; others perish in the burning -prairies, that awfully peculiar feature of the American solitudes; a few -are drowned every season in attempting to cross the ice of rivers not -firmly frozen; but the principal element of their destruction is in the -rapacity of the trader; and it has been calculated that the activity of -this last-named agent will ensure the extermination of this most valuable -creature within a very short period of time. - -The education of the Indian child is an object of the most profound -interest, not only to his own family but to the whole tribe. He is taught -to love his country and tribe, to contemn falsehood, to reverence age, to -be modest and silent; he is strictly enjoined to reward a kindness, but -also to avenge an injury; to aid and guard a friend, but also to injure, -by every means in his power, and relentlessly to persecute, an enemy; to -abhor theft, unless it be practised on the property of an enemy, when it -is called highly meritorious. The sports of youth are watched attentively -by their elders, and all evidences of cowardice, meanness, &c., are -followed by the needful discipline. The Indian usually retains his -mother’s name until he has entitled himself, by some remarkable act of -prowess, endurance, &c., to choose one for himself, or been distinguished -by some appellation bestowed by the tribe. Some of these “names” are -sufficiently amusing, as, for example, “He who jumps over every one,” “The -very sweet man,” “The man of good sense,” “No fool,” “The bird that goes -to war,” “He who strikes two at once,” &c. The names of women are not -always inelegant. Take as a specimen of Indian taste in this matter, “The -bending willow,” “The pure fountain,” “The sweet-scented grass.” Others -are scarcely so complimentary, as, “The female bear,” “The woman who lives -in the bear’s den,” “The creature that creeps,” &c. - -The constancy with which an Indian endures tortures, is among the best -known traits of his character, but his power of enduring labour has been -less insisted on; nay, it has been denied by those who despair of the -civilization of the race, or who believe that its destruction is a -consequence inevitable to the white man’s progress: but those who so judge -know little of our Red brothers. We could adduce many facts in proof of -this, were our space not wholly exhausted; but we must defer these, as -well as the account we had purposed giving of the very extraordinary -religious ceremonies practised among some of the tribes. We may, however, -possibly return to the subject at some other time. - - - - -THE IRISH FIDDLER. - -BY W. CARLETON. - - -What a host of light-hearted associations are revived by that living -fountain of fun and frolic, an Irish fiddler! Every thing connected with -him is agreeable, pleasant, jolly. All his anecdotes, songs, jokes, -stories, and secrets, bring us back from the pressure and cares of life, -to those happy days and nights when the heart was as light as the heel, -and both beat time to the exhilarating sound of his fiddle. - -The old harper was a character looked upon by the Irish rather as a -musical curiosity, than a being specially created to contribute to their -enjoyment. There was something about him which they did not feel to be in -perfect sympathy with their habits and amusements. He was above them, not -of them; and although they respected him, and treated him kindly, yet was -he never received among them with that spontaneous ebullition of warmth -and cordiality with which they welcomed their own musician, the fiddler. -The harper, in fact, belonged to the gentry, and to the gentry they were -willing to leave him. They listened to his music when he felt disposed to -play for them, but it only gratified their curiosity, instead of -enlivening their hearts--a fact sufficiently evident from the circumstance -of their seldom attempting to dance to it. This preference, however, of -the fiddle to the harp, is a feeling generated by change of times and -circumstances, for it is well known that in days gone by, when Irish -habits were purer, older, and more hereditary than they are now, the harp -was the favourite instrument of young and old, of high and low. - -The only instrument that can be said to rival the fiddle, is the bagpipe; -but every person knows that Ireland is a loving country, and that at our -fairs, dances, weddings, and other places of amusement, Paddy and his -sweetheart are in the habit of indulging in a certain quiet and -affectionate kind of whisper, the creamy tones of which are sadly curdled -by the sharp jar of the chanter. It is not, in fact, an instrument adapted -for love-making. The drone is an enemy to sentiment, and it is an -unpleasant thing for a pretty blushing girl to find herself put to the -necessity of bawling out her consent at the top of her lungs, which she -must do, or have the ecstatic words lost in its drowsy and monotonous -murmur. The bagpipe might do for war, to which, with a slight variation, -it has been applied; but in our opinion it is only fit to be danced to by -an assembly of people who are hard of hearing. Indeed, we have little -doubt but its cultivation might be introduced with good effect as a system -of medical treatment, suitable to the pupils of a deaf and dumb -institution; for if any thing could bring them to the use of their ears, -its sharp and stiletto notes surely would effect that object. - -The fiddle, however, is the instrument of all others most essential to the -enjoyment of an Irishman. Dancing and love are very closely connected, and -of course the fiddle is never thought of or heard, without awakening the -tenderest and most agreeable emotions. Its music, soft, sweet, and -cheerful, is just the thing for Paddy, who under its influence partakes of -its spirit, and becomes soft, sweet, and cheerful himself. The very tones -of it act like a charm upon him, and produce in his head such a bland and -delightful intoxication, that he finds himself making love just as -naturally as he would eat his meals. It opens all the sluices of his -heart, puts mercury in his veins, gives honey to a tongue that was, Heaven -knows, sufficiently sweet without it, and gifts him with a pair of feather -heels that Mercury might envy; and to crown all, endows him, while -pleading his cause in a quiet corner, with a fertility of invention, and -an easy unembarrassed assurance, which nothing can surpass. In fact, with -great respect for my friend Mr Bunting, the fiddle it is that _ought_ to -be our national instrument, as it is that which is most closely and -agreeably associated with the best and happiest impulses of the Irish -heart. The very language of the people themselves is a proof of this; for -whilst neither harp nor bagpipe is ever introduced as illustrating -peculiarities of feeling by any reference to their influence, the fiddle -is an agreeable instrument in their hands, in more senses than one. -Paddy’s highest notion of flattery towards the other sex is boldly -expressed by an image drawn from it, for when he boasts that he can, by -honied words, impress such an agreeable delusion upon his sweetheart as to -make her imagine “that there is a fiddler on every rib of the house,” -there can be no metaphor conceived more strongly or beautifully expressive -of the charm which flows from the tones of that sweet instrument. Paddy, -however, is very often hit by his own metaphor, at a time when he least -expects it. When pleading his cause, for instance, and promising golden -days to his fair one, he is not unfrequently met by, “Ay, ay, it’s all -very well now; you’re sugary enough, of coorse; but wait till we’d be a -year married, an’ maybe, like so many others that promised what you do, -you’d never come home to me widout ‘hangin’ up your fiddle behind the -door;’” by which she means to charge him with the probability of being -agreeable when abroad, but morose in his own family. - -Having thus shown that the fiddle and its music are mixed up so strongly -with our language, feelings, and amusements, it is now time to say -something of the fiddler. In Ireland it is impossible, on looking through -all the classes of society, to find any individual so perfectly free from -care, or, in stronger words, so completely happy, as the fiddler, -especially if he be blind, which he generally is. His want of sight -circumscribes his other wants, and, whilst it diminishes his enjoyments, -not only renders him unconscious of their loss, but gives a greater zest -to those that are left him, simple and innocent as they are. He is in -truth a man whose lot in life is happily cast, and whose lines have fallen -in pleasant places. The phase of life which is presented to him, and in -which he moves, is one of innocent mirth and harmless enjoyment. -Marriages, weddings, dances, and merry-makings of all descriptions, create -the atmosphere of mirth and happiness which he ever breathes. With the -dark designs, the crimes, and outrages of mankind, he has nothing to do, -and his light spirit is never depressed by their influence. Indeed, he -may be said with truth to pass through none but the festivals of life, to -hear nothing but mirth, to feel nothing but kindness, and to communicate -nothing but happiness to all around him. He is at once the source and the -centre of all good and friendly feelings. By him the aged man forgets his -years, and is agreeably cheated back into youth; the labourer snatches a -pleasant moment from his toil, and is happy; the care-worn ceases to -remember the anxieties that press him down; the boy is enraptured with -delight, and the child is charmed with a pleasure that he feels to be -wonderful. - -Surely such a man is important, as filling up with enjoyment so many of -the painful pauses in human misery. He is a thousand times better than a -politician, and is a true philosopher without knowing it. Every man is his -friend, unless it be a rival fiddler, and he is the friend of every man, -with the same exception. Every house, too, every heart, and every hand, is -open to him; he never knows what it is to want a bed, a dinner, or a -shilling. Good heavens! what more than this can the cravings of a human -heart desire! For my part, I do not know what others might aim at; but I -am of opinion that in such a world as this, the highest proof of a wise -man would be, a wish to live and die an Irish fiddler. - -And yet, alas! there is no condition of life without some remote or -contingent sorrow. Many a scene have I witnessed connected with this very -subject, that would wring the tears out of any eye, and find a tender -pulse in the hardest heart. It is indeed a melancholy alternative that -devotes the poor sightless lad to an employment that is ultimately -productive of so much happiness to himself and others. This alternative is -seldom resorted to, unless when some poor child--perhaps a favourite--is -deprived of sight by the terrible ravages of the small-pox. In life there -is scarcely any thing more touching than to witness in the innocent -invalid the first effects, both upon himself and his parents, of this -woeful privation. The utter helplessness of the pitiable darkling, and his -total dependence upon those around him--his unacquaintance with the -relative situation of all the places that were familiar to him--his -tottering and timid step, and his affecting call of “Mammy, where are -you?” joined to the bitter consciousness on her part that the light of -affection and innocence will never sparkle in those beloved eyes -again--all this constitutes a scene of deep and bitter sorrow. When, -however, the sense of his bereavement passes away, and the cherished child -grows up to the proper age, a fiddle is procured for him by his parents, -if they are able, and if not, a subscription is made up among their -friends and neighbours to buy him one. All the family, with tears in their -eyes, then kiss and take leave of him; and his mother, taking him by the -hand, leads him, as had been previously arranged, to the best fiddler in -the neighbourhood, with whom he is left as an apprentice. There is -generally no fee required, but he is engaged to hand his master all the -money he can make at dances, from the time he is proficient enough to play -at them. Such is the simple process of putting a blind boy in the way of -becoming acquainted with the science of melody. - -In my native parish there were four or five fiddlers--all good in their -way; but the Paganini of the district was the far-famed Mickey M’Rorey. -Where Mickey properly lived, I never could actually discover, and for the -best reason in the world--he was not at home once in twelve months. As -Colley Cibber says in the play, he was “a kind of a here-and-thereian--a -stranger nowhere.” This, however, mattered little; for though perpetually -shifting day after day from place to place, yet it somehow happened that -nobody ever was at a loss where to find him. The truth is, he never felt -disposed to travel _incog._, because he knew that his interest must suffer -by doing so; the consequence was, that wherever he went, a little nucleus -of local fame always attended him, which rendered it an easy matter to -find his whereabouts. - -Mickey was blind from his infancy, and, as usual, owed to the small-pox -the loss of his eyesight. He was about the middle size, of rather a -slender make, and possessed an intelligent countenance, on which beamed -that singular expression of inward serenity so peculiar to the blind. His -temper was sweet and even, but capable of rising through the buoyancy of -his own humour to a high pitch of exhilaration and enjoyment. The dress he -wore, as far as I can remember, was always the same in colour and -fabric--to wit, a brown coat, a sober-tinted cotton waistcoat, grey -stockings, and black corduroys. Poor Mickey! I think I see him before me, -his head erect, as the heads of all blind men are, the fiddle-case under -his left arm, and his hazel staff held out like a feeler, exploring with -experimental pokes the nature of the ground before him, even although -some happy urchin leads him onward with an exulting eye; an honour of -which he will boast to his companions for many a mortal month to come. - -The first time I ever heard Mickey play was also the first I ever heard a -fiddle. Well and distinctly do I remember the occasion. The season was -summer--but summer _was_ summer then--and a new house belonging to Frank -Thomas had been finished, and was just ready to receive him and his -family. The floors of Irish houses in the country generally consist at -first of wet clay; and when this is sufficiently well smoothed and -hardened, a dance is known to be an excellent thing to bind and prevent -them from cracking. On this occasion the evening had been appointed, and -the day was nearly half advanced but no appearance of the fiddler. The -state of excitement in which I found myself could not be described. The -name of Mickey M’Rorey had been ringing in my ears for God knows how long, -but I had never seen him, or even heard his fiddle. Every two minutes I -was on the top of a little eminence looking out for him, my eyes straining -out of their sockets, and my head dizzy with the prophetic expectation of -rapture and delight. Human patience, however, could bear this painful -suspense no longer, and I privately resolved to find Mickey, or perish. I -accordingly proceeded across the hills, a distance of about three miles, -to a place called Kilnahushogue, where I found him waiting for a guide. At -this time I could not have been more than seven years of age; and how I -wrought out my way over the lonely hills, or through what mysterious -instinct I was led to him, and that by a path too over which I had never -travelled before, must be left unrevealed, until it shall please that -Power which guides the bee to its home, and the bird for thousands of -miles through the air, to disclose the principle upon which it is -accomplished. - -On our return home I could see the young persons of both sexes flying out -to the little eminence I spoke of, looking eagerly towards the point we -travelled from, and immediately scampering in again, clapping their hands, -and shouting with delight. Instantly the whole village was out, young and -old, standing for a moment to satisfy themselves that the intelligence was -correct; after which, about a dozen of the youngsters sprang forward, with -the speed of so many antelopes, to meet us, whilst the elders returned -with a soberer but not less satisfied manner into the houses. Then -commenced the usual battle, as to who should be honoured by permission to -carry the fiddle-case. Oh! that fiddle-case! For seven long years it was -an honour exclusively allowed to myself, whenever Mickey attended a dance -any where at all near us; and never was the Lord Chancellor’s mace--to -which, by the way, with great respect for his lordship, it bore a -considerable resemblance--carried with a prouder heart or a more exulting -eye. But so it is-- - - “These little things are great to _little_ men.” - -“Blood alive. Mickey, you’re welcome!” “How is every bone of you, Mickey? -Bedad we gev you up.” “No, we didn’t give you up, Mickey; never heed him; -sure we knew very well you’d not desart the Towny boys--whoo!--Fol de rol -lol.” “Ah, Mickey, won’t you sing ‘There was a wee devil come over the -wall?’” “To be sure he will, but wait till he comes home and gets his -dinner first. Is’t off an empty stomach you’d have him to sing?” “Mickey, -give me the fiddle-case, won’t you, Mickey?” “No, to _me_, Mickey.” “Never -heed them, Mickey: you promised it to me at the dance in Carntaul.” - -“Aisy, boys, aisy. The truth is, none of yez can get the fiddle-case. -Shibby, my fiddle, hasn’t been well for the last day or two, and can’t -bear to be carried by any one barrin’ myself.” - -“Blood alive! sick is it, Mickey?--an’ what ails her?” - -“Why, some o’ the doctors says there’s a frog in her, an’ others that she -has the cholic; but I’m goin’ to give her a dose of balgriffauns when I -get up to the house above. Ould Harry Connolly says she’s with fiddle; an’ -if that’s true, boys, maybe some o’ yez won’t be in luck. I’ll be able to -spare a young fiddle or two among yez.” - -Many a tiny hand was clapped, and many an eye was lit up with the hope of -getting a young fiddle; for gospel itself was never looked upon to be more -true than this assertion of Mickey’s. And no wonder. The fact is, he used -to amuse himself by making small fiddles of deal and horse-hair, which he -carried about with him as presents for such youngsters as he took a fancy -to. This he made a serious business of, and carried it on with an -importance becoming the intimation just given. Indeed, I remember the time -when I watched one of them, which I was so happy as to receive from him, -day and night, with the hope of being able to report that it was growing -larger; for my firm belief was, that in due time it would reach the usual -size. - -As we went along, Mickey, with his usual tact, got out of us all the -information respecting the several courtships of the neighbourhood that -had reached us, and as much, too, of the village gossip and scandal as we -knew. - -Nothing can exceed the overflowing kindness and affection with which the -Irish fiddler is received on the occasion of a dance or merry-making; and -to do him justice he loses no opportunity of exaggerating his own -importance. From habit, and his position among the people, his wit and -power of repartee are necessarily cultivated and sharpened. Not one of his -jokes ever fails--a circumstance which improves his humour mightily; for -nothing on earth sustains it so much as knowing, that, whether good or -bad, it will be laughed at. Mickey, by the way, was a bachelor, and, -though blind, was able, as he himself used to say, to see through his ears -better than another could through the eyes. He knew every voice at once, -and every boy and girl in the parish by name, the moment he heard them -speak. - -On reaching the house he is bound for, he either partakes of, or at least -is offered, refreshment, after which comes the ecstatic moment to the -youngsters: but all this is done by due and solemn preparation. First he -calls for a pair of scissors, with which he pares or seems to pare his -nails; then asks for a piece of rosin, and in an instant half a dozen boys -are off at a break-neck pace, to the next shoemaker’s, to procure it; -whilst in the meantime he deliberately pulls a piece out of his pocket and -rosins his bow. But, heavens! what a ceremony the opening of that -fiddle-case is! The manipulation of the blind man as he runs his hand down -to the key-hole--the turning of the key--the taking out of the fiddle--the -twang twang--and then the first ecstatic sound, as the bow is drawn across -the strings; then comes a screwing; then a delicious saw or two; again -another screwing--twang twang--and away he goes with the favourite tune of -the good woman, for such is the etiquette upon these occasions. The house -is immediately thronged with the neighbours, and a preliminary dance is -taken, in which the old folks, with good-humoured violence, are literally -dragged out, and forced to join. Then come the congratulations--“Ah, Jack, -you could do it wanst,” says Mickey, “an’ can still; you have a kick in -you yet.” “Why, Mickey, I seen dancin’ in my time,” the old man will -reply, his brow relaxed by a remnant of his former pride, and the hilarity -of the moment, “but you see the breath isn’t what it used to be wid me, -when I could dance the _Baltehorum Jig_ on the bottom of a ten-gallon -cask. But I think a glass o’ whisky will do us no harm afther that. -Heighho!--well, well--I’m sure I thought _my_ dancin’ days wor over.” - -“Bedad an’ you wor matched any how,” rejoined the fiddler. “Molshy carried -as light a heel as ever you did; sorra a woman of her years ever I seen -could cut the buckle wid her. You would know the tune on her feet still.” - -“Ah, Mickey, the thruth is,” the good woman would say, “we have no sich -dancin’ now as there was in my days. Thry that glass.” - -“But as good fiddlers, Molshy, eh? Here’s to you both, and long may ye -live to shake the toe! Whoo! bedad that’s great stuff. Come now, sit down. -Jack, till I give you your ould favourite, ‘_Cannie Soogah_.’” - -These were happy moments and happy times, which might well be looked upon -as picturing the simple manners of country life with very little of moral -shadow to obscure the cheerfulness which lit up the Irish heart and hearth -into humble happiness. Mickey, with his usual good nature, never forgot -the younger portion of his audience. After entertaining the old and -full-grown, he would call for a key, one end of which he placed in his -mouth, in order to make the fiddle sing for the children their favourite -song, beginning with - - “Oh! grand-mamma, will you squeeze my wig?” - -This he did in such a manner, through the medium of the key, that the -words seemed to be spoken by the instrument, and not by himself. After -this was over, he would sing us, to his own accompaniment, another -favourite, “There was a wee devil looked over the wall,” which generally -closed that portion of the entertainment so kindly designed for _us_. - -Upon those moments I have often witnessed marks of deep and pious -feeling, occasioned by some memory of the absent or the dead, that were as -beautiful as they were affecting. If, for instance, a favourite son or -daughter happened to be removed by death, the father or mother, -remembering the air which was loved best by the departed, would pause a -moment, and with a voice full of sorrow, say, “Mickey, there is _one tune_ -that I would like to hear; I love to think of it, and to hear it; I do, -for the sake of them that’s gone--my darlin’ son that’s lyin’ low: it was -he that loved it. His ear is closed against it now; but for _his_ -sake--ay, for your sake, avourneen machree--we will hear it wanst more.” - -Mickey always played such tunes in his best style, and amidst a silence -that was only broken by sobs, suppressed moanings, and the other tokens of -profound sorrow. These gushes, however, of natural feeling soon passed -away. In a few minutes the smiles returned, the mirth broke out again, and -the lively dance went on as if their hearts had been incapable of such -affection for the dead--affection at once so deep and tender. But many a -time the light of cheerfulness plays along the stream of Irish feeling, -when cherished sorrow lies removed from the human eye far down from the -surface. - -These preliminary amusements being now over, Mickey is conducted to the -dance-house, where he is carefully installed in the best chair, and -immediately the dancing commences. It is not my purpose to describe an -Irish dance here, having done it more than once elsewhere. It is enough to -say that Mickey is now in his glory; and proud may the young man be who -fills the honourable post of his companion, and sits next him. He is a -living storehouse of intelligence, a travelling directory for the -parish--the lover’s text-book--the young woman’s best companion; for where -is the courtship going on of which he is not cognizant? where is there a -marriage on the tapis, with the particulars of which he is not acquainted? -He is an authority whom nobody would think of questioning. It is now, too, -that he scatters his jokes about; and so correct and well trained is his -ear, that he can frequently name the young man who dances, by the -peculiarity of his step. - -“Ah ha! Paddy Brien, you’re there? Sure I’d know the sound of your -smoothin’-irons any where. Is it thrue, Paddy, that you wor sint for down -to Errigle Keerogue, to kill the clocks for Dan M’Mahon? But, nabuklish! -Paddy, what’ll you have?” - -“Is that Grace Reilly on the flure? Faix, avourneen, you can do it; devil -o’ your likes I _see_ any where. I’ll lay Shibby to a penny trump that you -could dance your own namesake--the _Calleen dhas dhun_, the bonny brown -girl--upon a spider’s cobweb, widout breakin’ it. Don’t be in a hurry, -Grace dear, to tie the knot; _I’ll_ wait for you.” - -Several times in the course of the night a plate is brought round, and a -collection made for the fiddler: this was the moment when Mickey used to -let the jokes fly in every direction. The timid he shamed into liberality, -the vain he praised, and the niggardly he assailed by open hardy satire; -all managed, however, with such an under-current of good humour, that no -one could take offence. No joke ever told better than that of the broken -string. Whenever this happened at night, Mickey would call out to some -soft fellow, “Blood alive, Ned Martin, will you bring me a candle?--I’ve -broken a string.” The unthinking young man, forgetting that he was blind, -would take the candle in a hurry, and fetch it to him. - -“Faix, Ned. I knew you wor jist fit for’t; houldin’ a candle to a dark -man! Isn’t he a beauty, boys?--look at him, girls--as cute as a pancake.” - -It is unnecessary to say, that the mirth on such occasions was convulsive. -Another similar joke was also played off by him against such as he knew to -be ungenerous at the collection. - -“Paddy Smith, I want a word wid you. I’m goin’ across the counthry as far -as Ned Donnelly’s, and I want you to help me along the road, as the night -is dark.” - -“To be sure, Mickey. I’ll bring you over as snug as if you wor on a clane -plate, man alive!” - -“Thank you, Paddy; throth you’ve the dacency in you; an’ kind father for -you, Paddy. Maybe I’ll do as much for you some other time.” - -Mickey never spoke of this until the trick was played off, after which, he -published it to the whole parish; and Paddy of course was made a standing -jest for being so silly as to think that night or day had any difference -to a man who could not see. - -Thus passed the life of Mickey M’Rorey, and thus pass the lives of most of -his class, serenely and happily. As the sailor to his ship, the sportsman -to his gun, so is the fiddler attached to his fiddle. His hopes and -pleasures, though limited, are full. His heart is necessarily light, for -he comes in contact with the best and brightest side of life and nature; -and the consequence is, that their mild and mellow lights are reflected on -and from himself. I am ignorant whether poor Mickey is dead or not; but I -dare say he forgets the boy to whose young spirit he communicated so much -delight, and who often danced with a buoyant and careless heart to the -pleasant notes of his fiddle. Mickey M’Rorey, farewell! Whether living or -dead, peace be with you! - -There is another character in Ireland essentially different from the mere -fiddler--I mean the country dancing-master. In a future number of the -Journal I will give a sketch of one who was eminent in his line. Many will -remember him when I name BUCKRAM-BACK. - - - - -THE PASSING BELL. - -BY J. U. U. - - - With its measured pause, and its long-drawn wail, - The minster bell swings on the gale, - And saddens the vale with its solemn toll, - That passeth away like a passing soul-- - Pulse after pulse still diminishing on, - Till another rings forth for the dead and gone. - - The minute-sound of that mourning bell - Is the lord’s of the valley--the rich man’s knell: - While it swells o’er his lawns and his woodlands bright, - He breathes not, hears not, nor sees the light: - On the couch of his ease he lies stiff and wan-- - In the midst of his pomp he is dead and gone. - - The pride hath passed from his haughty brow-- - Where are his plans and high projects now? - Another lord in his state is crowned, - To level his castles with the ground; - Respect and terror pass reckless on-- - His frowns and favours are dead and gone. - - Had he wisdom, and wealth, and fame, - Mortal tongue shall forget his name: - Other hands shall disperse his store-- - Earthly dream shall he dream no more: - His chair is vacant--his way lies yon, - To the formless cells of the dead and gone. - - Passing bell, that dost sadly fling - Thy wailing wave on the air of spring. - There is no voice in thy long, wild moan, - To tell where the parted soul is flown, - To what far mansion it travels on-- - While thou tollest thus for the dead and gone. - - Yet, bell of death, on the living air - Thy tones come bound from the house of prayer-- - They speak of the Valley of Shadow, trod - On a path once walked by the Son of God, - Whose word of promise inviteth on, - Through the gate unclosed for the dead and gone. - - * * * * * - -CURRENT COIN OF CHINA.--The only coin made in China is the tchen, or -_cash_, as it is called in Canton. It is composed of base metal, having -the date and reigning emperor’s name stamped on it. According to Gutzlaff, -they had coins of this description a thousand years before our era. It is -nearly as large as an old shilling. There is a square hole in the centre, -to admit of a number of them being strung on a bamboo. From seven to eight -hundred of these, according to the exchange, may be had for a Spanish -dollar. Silver is the commercial medium of barter; it is not coined, but -passes by weight, after being purified, when it is called sycee silver. It -is then cast into lumps of one tael, or Chinese ounce, each, the value of -which in English money is about six shillings. When decimal parts are -required, it is cut. Spanish dollars are current in Canton, and they are -also cut when required for lesser portions. Whenever one of these gets -into the possession of a Chinese, he stamps his name on it; hence in a -short time the Spanish marks become quite obliterated, and then they are -called chop dollars, and are melted into sycee silver. Gold is like any -other article of trade, and is not used as a medium of barter.--_Dr -Fulton’s Travelling Sketches in Various Countries._ - - - - -EXTRAORDINARY ANOMALY. - -BERNARD CAVANAGH. - - -In the hope that the narration of the following singular circumstances may -attract the attention of medical and scientific men towards its -extraordinary subject, we lay it before the readers of the _Irish Penny -Journal_:-- - -Bernard Cavanagh is about twenty-four years of age, and now living with -his parents at nearly a mile distant from the little town of Swineford, -county Mayo. The parents are respectable, of reputable character, and in -comfortable circumstances. They assert--indeed they have made affidavits -before a magistrate of the county--that for nearly the last four years he -has existed without tasting sustenance of any kind. They state also that -from the 2d September 1836 to the 2d July 1840, he neither spoke nor rose -from his bed except to allow it to be arranged, during which operation he -never opened his mouth; and this portion of the statement is borne out to -a considerable extent by the fact of his having been visited frequently, -and at various periods, by persons of high respectability as well as of -the lower class, on all which occasions he was observed invariably in the -same position, with his hands on his breast and his eyes fixed on the -window. - -The night before he betook himself to bed, he knocked at the door of the -priest’s house, and stated that he wished to communicate something to him; -but the reverend gentleman declined admitting him, in consequence of the -lateness of the hour, saying that he could impart whatever he wished to -state on the morrow. - -“But I will not be here to-morrow,” responded Cavanagh; and he was right: -the next day he took to his bed. - -In the interval between September 1836 and the present season, public -attention on a limited scale was occasionally directed towards Cavanagh. -But the report of his utter and continued abstinence from food was treated -as a monstrous fable by every one at any distance from his immediate -locality, and the extraordinary allegations respecting him were beginning -to fade from general recollection, when, to the utter astonishment of -every one in his neighbourhood, he arose from bed and recovered his speech -and powers of moving about; since which time he continues, according to -the accounts, without sustenance in any shape, and has been visited by -thousands of persons from various quarters. - -In boyhood, Cavanagh’s education extended barely as far as the acquirement -of reading and writing; but he constantly exhibited strong marks of -religious enthusiasm, often proceeding to Meelick chapel (about three -miles from his residence) to one mass, and then attending another at his -own parish chapel of Swineford. It is said, too, that he at one time -constructed a sort of rude building for his private devotion in the open -fields, and repeatedly went to prayers at meal-times in his father’s -house, contenting himself with _one_ meal in the day, as if preparing -himself for his total fast. Accordingly, since resuming his speech and -motion he haunts the chapel at all hours by day and night, continuing for -hours together apparently in private prayer, and generally attended by a -large concourse of the peasantry, whom he addresses by fits and starts, -and many of whom are naturally, under the circumstances, beginning to deem -him not a human being at all, but a shadow. - -He seems not inclined to speak much, though he states he has had “high -visions.” His reply to the clergymen respecting his revelations and -fasting, is, that he is fed by the Word; that he is not at liberty to -detail his visions for the gratification of man; and that no one should -judge lest he be judged. - -Cavanagh is about the middle height, of a grave emaciated countenance; his -motions are quite unembarrassed, and his voice is sonorous and distinct -when he speaks, which is still but seldom, as he seems to utterly -disregard his visitors, whatever their rank. - -As we said before, he continues daily to draw thousands of the peasantry -around him, who eagerly watch every word that falls from his lips, as they -place implicit faith in the assertion that he has lived without any -description of food for the last four years, and of course regard him as -something entirely beyond the pale of ordinary humanity. _We_ are, -however, not so easy of belief in a case so much at variance with the -ordinary regulations of nature; at the same time that we are free to admit -that it is hard to conceive what motive the young man or his parents could -have for carrying on such an imposition, as the latter endeavoured at -first to conceal the matter altogether, and, in the next place, have -repeatedly refused money offered by their respectable visitors, though, -in fact, their means are a good deal diminished by the hospitality -extended to each successive guest; while a young sister, who has -constantly attended Cavanagh since he has lain and fasted according to the -statement, persists in declaring, with the strongest appearance of -innocence and belief in the truth of her own assertion, that it was -impossible he could have tasted any thing during any part of that time -unknown to her, and that he never had. - -That a person of narrow intellect and strong devotional propensities -should be seized with a religious monomania, and that to a being of a weak -mind and a debilitated frame strange visions should occur, is perfectly -comprehensible; but that the frail materials of the human frame, which -needs the nourishment of food as much as the flower requires sunshine and -moisture, should endure for such a period without support, is so -unprecedented in all the records of mankind, and so contradictory to the -general laws of nature, that it would require the most powerful proofs -indeed to convince the intelligent mind of its truth. We therefore again -express our strong hope that this slight sketch may produce the effect of -having Cavanagh’s case submitted to the test of eminent medical skill--a -test to which the parents profess their entire willingness to assent, and -thus a case of the grossest imposition be detected, and thousands of -simple beings disabused, or one of the most extraordinary of nature’s -anomalies be clearly ascertained and exhibited. - - A. - - * * * * * - -SCENE IN THE THEATRE AT LEGHORN.--My time passed delightfully while I -remained in Leghorn. The Russian fleet was at anchor in the Bay, commanded -by Admiral O’Dwyer, a distinguished seaman, and an Irishman by birth. The -Storaces and myself often went on board his ship, and were delighted by -hearing the Russians chaunt their evening hymn. The melody is beautifully -simple, and was always sung completely in tune by this immense body of -men. There was at the same time in the harbour a privateer from Dublin, -called the Fame, Captain Moore: he and his first officer Campbell were -Irishmen, and had a fine set of Irish lads under them. When Storace’s -benefit took place, the officers and crew who could be spared from their -duty, to a man (and a famous sight it was) marched to the theatre, and -almost filled the par-terre. At the end of the opera, Storace sang the -Irish ballad “Molly Astore,” at the conclusion of which, the boatswain of -the Fame gave a loud whistle, and the crew in a body rose and gave three -cheers. The dismay of the Italian part of the audience was ludicrous in -the extreme. The sailors then sang “God save the King” in full chorus, and -when done, applauded themselves to the very skies: nothing could be more -unanimous or louder than their self-approbation.--_Reminiscences of -Michael Kelly._ - - * * * * * - -TRUTH.--Truth is the foundation of virtue. An habitual regard for it is -absolutely necessary. He who walks by the light of it has the advantage of -the mid-day sun; he who would spurn it, goes forth amid clouds and -darkness. There is no way in which a man strengthens his own judgment, and -acquires respect in society so surely, as by a scrupulous regard to truth. -The course of such an individual is right on and straight on. He is no -changeling, saying one thing to-day and another to-morrow. Truth to him is -like a mountain landmark to the pilot: he fixes his eye upon a point that -does not move, and he enters the harbour in safety. On the contrary, one -who despises truth and loves falsehood is like a pilot who takes a piece -of drift-wood for his landmark, which changes with every changing wave. On -this he fixes his attention, and, being insensibly led from his course, -strikes upon some hidden reef, and sinks to rise no more. Thus truth -brings success; falsehood results in ruin and contempt.--_Dr Channing._ - - * * * * * - -GAMING.--I look upon every man as a suicide from the moment he takes the -dice-box desperately in his hand; and all that follows in his fatal career -from that fatal time is only sharpening the dagger before he strikes it to -his heart.--_Cumberland._ - - - Printed and Published every Saturday by GUNN and CAMERON, at the - Office of the General Advertiser, No. 6, Church Lane, College Green, - Dublin.--Agents:--R. GROOMBRIDGE, Panyer Alley, Paternoster Row, - London. SIMMS and DINHAM, Exchange Street, Manchester. J. DAVIES, - North John Street, Liverpool. J. DRAKE, Birmingham. M. BINGHAM, - Broad Street, Bristol. FRASER and CRAWFORD, George Street, - Edinburgh. DAVID ROBERTSON, Trongate, Glasgow. - - - -Transcriber’s Note: In the original, the date of 766 was given for the -death of “Dubdainber, the son of Cormac, Abbot of Monasterboice”. Based -on its order in the chronology (and cross-reference with other historical -sources) this is presumed to be a misprint and has been changed to 786. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 7, -August 15, 1840, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRISH PENNY JOURNAL, AUG 15, 1840 *** - -***** This file should be named 53982-0.txt or 53982-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/9/8/53982/ - -Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by JSTOR www.jstor.org) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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